Carax ’95 is a fun retro-style vertical shooter designed by Bio_100%, one of Japan’s oldest freeware design group (they also developed WinDepth, reviewed on this site).

Carax ’95 resembles Galaxian and Space Invaders, in that you basically wait at the bottom of the screen while waves of enemy ships fly toward you. However, the game uses an innovative and challenging mechanic: instead of a limited number of lives, you have unlimited lives in this game. But you have only 3 minutes in which to score as high as possible and to evade enemy fire: each hit will cost you 10 precious seconds. On the other hand, if you manage to complete a wave with a hit-ratio of 70% of better, you will be rewarded with more game time on the timer. This means it is essential to accurately aim your shots – holding down the fire button won’t get you far in this game.

In terms of longevity, the game has plenty of enemy types, and the action is fast and furious enough to keep you coming back. The ships are well-designed in anime cartoon style, and the animations are very smooth. If you enjoy Galaxian, you will find Carax ’95 an excellent coffee-break version that deserves a spot on your computer. Recommended!